Supersonic Festival

a celebration of the expressive, challenging and generally out thereThe Times

“Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival occupies an exalted position at the vanguard of the festival circuit. And rightly so. Since its inception over ten years ago, it has maintained a staggeringly focused and intelligent curatorial policy, transcending the music and art worlds to present a programme teeming with invention, audience participation and a certain amount of unpredictability. It’s also a bloody good knees up.” The Skinny

Starting as a one-day event in Birmingham in 2003, Supersonic is now an internationally renowned experimental music and arts festival. Named by Stuart Maconie, BBC 6 Music as ‘the UK’s premier experimental music festival” and named number two in The Times guide to the fifty best events of the summer (2015).

At the heart of the festival is a passion for genre bending sound and performance, with an international travelling audience and a commitment to emerging dynamic talent. Supersonic Festival’s diverse programme combines today’s most exciting talent with legendary, one-of-a-kind acts. In addition we host a marketplace, giving the UK’s underground music scene an opportunity to network and trade directly with their target audience; talks and workshops interrogating issues relevant to the independent arts sector and an extensive programme of extra-curricular activity including workshops, exhibitions and a film programme.

www.supersonicfestival.com



2012


“Refreshing, challenging, thought-provoking and a whole lot of fun, Supersonic 2012 was the best festival I’ve attended in a long time. Ten more years of this please.”
Thumped

Supersonic Festival 2012 performances
Body/Head feat Kim Gordon and Bill Nace . Oxbow Orchestra . Lau Nau . Sir Richard Bishop . Hookworms . Kevin Drumm . Dylan Carlson .  Jarboe .  Flower/Corsano Duo .  Bohren & Der Club of Gore .  Warm Digits . Nicholas Bullen . Rangda . Merzbow . Thomas Ankersmit .  Carlton Melton . Drunk in Hell . Hype Williams . Doomsday Student . Zeni Geva .  The Bug . Richard Dawson .  Tomutonttu .  Clifford Torus . Six Organs of Admittance .  Mothertrucker . Ruins Alone . Gnod . Islaja , KK Null . Lichens . Justice Yeldham . SWLLWS . Zoltan . Dope Body . Ufomammut . Tim Hecker.  Grey Hairs . Goat . My Disco . Small but Hard Showcase . Free School . Modified Toy Orchestra . Stian Westerhus . PCM . JK Flesh . ORE vs KK Null . Lash Frenzy . SOUNDkitchen . Moon0)))

Exhibitions, talks, screenings and special events
Vinyl Rally
. Reverse Karaoke . Festival of the Rea . MortonUnderwood’s Noise Boxes . Scratch n Phase . Birthday Thumps and Bumps . Crossroads of Sabbath walking tour . Counting In: The Art of Listening . New Music Plus . You Can Be You . Savage Pencil Q&A . Sonic Feast . Supersonic Tea Party Imperfect Cinema workshop . Wildman Life Drawing . Kids Gigs with Flower/Corsano Duo and Islaja . Network Awesome screenings . Kino 10 screening . Trash Humpers . The Bruce Lacey Experience

This festival is the most “welcoming” I have ever been to. The varied program is fantastic and I especially enjoyed the exhibitions…The sheer amount of dedication that Capsule and the team demonstrate really does ignite the musical passion in me! Thank you.

Audience feedback


2011

 

The Birmingham-based Supersonic Festival, now in its ninth year, has a distinct identity in the UK’s increasingly crowded festival calendar – but it’s also commendably hard to sum that identity up in a few words.
Frances Morgan, Frieze

 

Supersonic Festival 2011 performances
Mike Watt + The Missingmen . Cloaks . Secret Chiefs 3 . Scorn . The Berg Sans Nipple . Nathan Bell . Orthodox . Teeth of the Sea . Agathe Max . Bardo Pond . Antilles . Kogumaza . Lucky Dragons . Wolves in the Throne Room . Backwards . Pharaoh Overlord . Electric Wizard . Klaus Kinski . The Skull Defekts . Zombi . Monarch . Pekko Kappi .  Modulate .  Eternal Tapestry . Selfless . Drum Eyes . Barn Owl . Astro . iconAclass . Cut Hands . Tony Conrad . Silver Apples . ENVY . Drunk in Hell .  Alva Noto . Circle . Byetone . White Hills . Turbonegro . a.P.A.t.T. . Slabdragger . DJ Scotch Egg . Part Chimp . Drumcunt . Fire! with Oren Ambarchi . Alexander Tucker . ORE

Exhibitions, talks, screenings and special events
Herman Inclusus . Spectacle . Grindcore: Cut n Paste . Incarnate . Conny Prantera . SOUNDkitchen’s Cinema for the Ears .  Birmingham Zine Festival. Velzuvial . Sonic Graffiti . Tony Conrad Q&A . William Bennett Q&A . From A to Zine . Dirty Electronics: Mute Synth workshop . Imperfect Cinema workshop . Get a Grip screenprinting . Kids Gigs with Lucky Dragons and The Berg Sans Nipple . Man with a Video Camera . Kill All Redneck Pricks: A documentary film about a band called Karp
Would love to just say a massive thank you to everyone involved. I have been the last 6 years and it just gets better and better. The musical higlight of my year. Great atmosphere. Great sound. Great food. Great people. THANK YOU
Audience feedback


2010

 

Birmingham’s “foremost purveyors of what is interesting, exciting and invigorating about music in the twenty-first century” strike gold again at this year’s Supersonic festival
Bearded Magazine

Supersonic Festival 2010 performances
Swans . Godflesh . Napalm Death HalloGallo. PCM .  Dead Fader . Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides . Blue Sabbath Black Fiji .  Eagle Twin . Lichens . Steve Tromans and Dan Nicholls . Gnaw.  Dosh . Cloaks DJ set . Stinky Wizzleteat .  OvO .  King Midas Sound .  Gnod . Tweak Bird .  Godflesh . Cave . Melt Banana . Health & Efficiency . Bong . Peter Broderick . Voice Of The Seven Thunders . Jailbreak . Ruins . Mothlite . Nisennenmondai . James Blackshaw . Mugstar . Factory Floor . Barn Owl . Chrome Hoof .  Zeni Geva . Dethscalator. Necro Deathmort . Fukpig . Demons feat. Sick Llama . Gum Takes Tooth . Devilman . Drumcorps. Pierre Bastien . People Like Us . Nicholas Bullen . Khyam Allami + Master Musicians of Bukkake + Black Sun Drum Corps + Lash Frenzy vs KK Null

Exhibitions, talks, screenings and special events
Seeing Sound . Action Hero . God’s White Noise . Sirens of Sparkhill . Michael Rother Q&A . Fear of Music . Prick Your Finger craft workshop . Sam Underwood’s Noise Box workshop . Kigs Gigs with Glatze and Dosh . VBS Guide to Liberia . Sublime Frequencies films . Guardian of the Veil by Matthew Barney . films curated by Robert Lowe .



2009

Supersonic is, in our opinion the best festival in the world right now
Rock-A-Rolla Magazine

Supersonic Festival 2009 performances
Goblin . Corrupted . Thorr’s Hammer . Army Of Flying Robots . Atomized . Drum Eyes . Kylie Minoise . PCM / Scorn . Taint . Venetian Snares . Bobby Previte . Diaganol . Flower/Corsano Duo . Growing . Iron Lung . Kim Hiorthoy . Light Trap .  Marnie Stern . Master Musicians Of Bukkake .  Monotonix .  Nisennenmondai  . Remember Remember . Rose Kemp .  Skullflower . Tartufi .  The Accused .  Thought Forms . Tweak Bird . Zu .  65 Days Of Static . Arbouretum . Caribou .  Chris Herbert . Earthless . Head Of David . Jarboe .  Khyam Allami  . Nancy Wallace . Pontiak . Pram . Theo . The Memory Band . ZzZ

Exhibitions, talks and special events
The Outcrowd . Bunny Bissoux’s Petting Corner . There Are No Others There Is Only Us by Marc Silver and Ben Frost . Goblin Q&A . Dr Niall Scott on ‘Metal and the Male Monster’ . Sunn0))) on Home of Metal . Celebrating Independence panel . John Richards and the Dirty Electronics workshop and performance . Suspiria screening


2008

 

Of this welter of well organised, wisely curated festivals (ATP, Faster Than Sound, Sonar, Greenman) perhaps the best organised and most wisely curated was Supersonic…Supersonic inhabited the nexus where metal, folk and noise met.
Louis Pattison Plan B Magazine

Supersonic Festival 2008 performances
Gravetemple . Asva . DJ Scotch Egg . The Osaka Invasion . Battles . Harvey Milk . Efterklang . Harmonia . Noxagt . Earth . Wooden Shjips . Thrones . Oxbow . Justice Yeldham . Dalek . Orthodox . Black Sun . The Owl Service . Max Tundra . PCM . Magentaphone . Einstellung . Guapo . Merzbow vs Keiji Haino . Red Sparowes . Fuck Buttons . ZX Spectrum Orchestra . Cath & Phil Tyler . Parts & Labour . Beestung Lips . Einstellung . PCM . DJ/rupture . The Heads . The Oscillation . Alexander Tucker . Cutting Pink with Knives . Errors . The Courtesy Group

Exhibitions, talks and special events
The Outcrowd . French at Ideal skate ramp . Pierre Bastien installation . Brian Duffy + Yukio Fujimoto talk . Nicholas Bullen on ‘The Aesthetics of Grindcore . Mark Pilkington on ‘Occultism, Rock and Pop Music in the UK’

 


2007

 

Supersonic is eclectic yet expertly programmed and although styles are disparate there is a common thread that holds it all together: the joy of discovery. For every band you are familiar with there will be another you have yet to hear; for every artist you want to see there is another you simply can’t miss.
Spencer Hickman, Rough Trade Records

 

Supersonic Festival 2007 performances
Mogwai . Sunn0))) . Qui. Pharaoh Overlord . Tunng . Miasma & the Carousel of the Headless Horses . Modified Toy Orchestra . Crippled Black Phoenix . Oxbow Duo . Chrome Hoof . Jazkamer . Voice of the Seven Woods . Shady Bard . Migrant . Serafina Steer . Shit & Shine . Beestung Lips . Duracell . Calvados Beam Trio . Esquilax . Strings of Consciousness .

Film programme curated by Flatpack Festival

Metal – A symposium to celebrate and explore the West Midlands musical heritage.


2006

 

 The Supersonic line-up’s determined diversity seduces an audience that can inhabit the more esoteric corners of the dancefloor or dwell, darkly, down at the bottom of the venue’s drained swimming pool. Regardless of any perceived clans, the whole crowd are united in their adorartion of carefully sculpted noise matter.
The Wire

Supersonic Festival 2006 performances
Isis . High On Fire . Broadcast . Modified Toy Orchestra .  Michael Gira . Shade (Stephen O’Malley + Dylan Carlson) . Hanne Hukkelburg . Una Corda . Rother & Moebius . Thrones . Circle . Final . Alexander Tucker . Haddonfield Illinois . Voice of The Seven Woods . Shitmat . DJ Scotch Egg . Jason Forrest . The Countryside Alliance Crew . Moronic Dance Music Association . Twocsinak . Hot Roddy/Minimal Impact . The Bohman Brothers . DJ Cheesemaster . DJ Food . The Bug & MCs Ras B & Warrior Queen . PCM . Mistress . Andy Votel . Shy Child . Zombi . US Maple . Knives . Circulus . Mills & Boon

Plus a film programme curated by Flatpack Festival


 


2005

 

Supersonic Festival 2005 performances
Psychic TV . Rother & Moebius . Dalek . Battles . Jesu . Aerogramme . Esquilax . Modified Toy Orchestra . Merzbow vs Stephen O’Malley . Barbara Morgenstern + Robert Lippok . Black Galaxy vs Kreepa  . Martin Creed ans his Band . David  Cunningham . PCM . Sol_Dat . Tunng . Konnor . Noise NPise Allore! . Formation Flight . Colder . Trevor Jackson . Chris Clark . DJ X . Shitmat . Surgeon . Paul Damage . Sir Real . Nicky B . Harvey Lane

Plus a film programme curated by Flatpack Festival


2004

 

…plugs directly into the creative currents flowing throughout the second city and should give quite a shock to anyone still labouring under the impression that Birmingham is a cultural void.
Paul Clarke – Channel 4 Ideas Factory

Supersonic Festival 2004 performances 
Q and not U . Bullet Union . Noise Noise Allore! . Luke Vibert . Cylob . DJ X . Neil Landstrumm . Sir Real . Paul Damage . Harvey Lane . Senor Coconut and his orchestra . Spektrum . Panacea . Christ . DJ Scud . Team Shadetek . British Murder Boys . Chris Clark . VD_Moth . Panic DHH . Kreepa vs Black Galaxy . Ward . Fast Lady . PCM . Mike in Mono . Berg Sans Nipple . Frank Cougar . Midair Condo . Esquilax

Exhibitions
Beat 13 . The Outcrowd . Sonic Arts Network:: Pete Batchelor . Prime Objective Lomo Show . Otonashi & Meisai @ No Name


2003

Supersonic Festival began as a one day arts festival investigating the theme of Sonic Modification

Supersonic Festival 2003 performances
Coil . DJ Food . LCD Soundsystem . The Bug . Kid Acne . V/VM . PCM . Pram . Nicholas Bullen . Teatowel . Deadsunrising
ZX Spectrum Orchestra . The Mighty Jungulator . Bathysphere . IACON

Exhibitions
Beat13 . Rolf Gehlhaar . Jonah Brucker-Cohen . Lisa Meyer . Kid Acne

Mouth of God live web radio broadcast with sets from The Bug and DJ Food + an interview with Coil